Gentry (Wolves of Winter's Edge Book 1)(32)

Odine snorted tiredly. "Do you look like a zombie wolf? Do you have red  eyes? I made you three the same way. Now get out. I need rest."

Asher and Roman strode out the door, but Gentry knelt in front of  Blaire. He looked so striking with the soft winter light filtering  through the open door behind him. He didn't try to touch her with his  hands, but his eyes felt like they were caressing her. So green. She  could see little gold flecks in them, could see each movement of his  pupil as he focused on her. He looked so relieved. No, he felt relieved.  She could sense it through some invisible link that hung in the air  between them.                       
       
           



       

Mine.

A slow smile stretched behind Gentry's beard. And in a reverent whisper, he said, "You're so beautiful, Trouble."

She wanted to smile, but didn't know how in this body. Excitement built up in her body as she realized what was happening.

It had worked. Whatever Odine had done had worked.

She was alive, and because of that, Gentry-her Gentry-was alive.

He felt bigger in this body. Dominant. Intimidating even though his eyes  were soft. She needed to touch him, though, so she gave into her new  instincts and pushed herself forward on her belly, then rolled over on  her side when she reached him, nudging her nose under his hand.

He chuckled and ran his fingertips up her muzzle. Felt so freaking good.  A needy whine left her lips, and there was more movement behind her.  Wagging tail, nothing to be afraid of this time.

"You want to run?" he asked through a wicked grin. He looked completely  exhausted, and she should let him rest, but the excitement in her body  was still there, so yes! She needed to run. That was a great suggestion.  Her mate was a genius.

She tried to work her body, and shocker, she was clumsy as hell, but she  got the hang of it a little by the time she reached the open door.  Gentry strode behind her, pulling off his shirt. Sexy mate. Blaire fell  all the way down the stairs with a yelp. Gentry laughed.

On the edge of the woods were two wolves-one black as tar with white  eyes, and one gray and brown with eyes the color of melted gold. Pack.  Strikers. She was one of them now. They thought they were going to leave  Gentry, leave her, but she wouldn't let them. She was going to make  them jump the right side of the fence.

Bouncing unsteadily, she aimed for them. Roman huffed a sneeze that  sounded suspiciously like a wolf laugh. Jerk. Asher blinked slowly and  made her walk all the way to him, lowering herself like she'd done with  Gentry because the Strikers felt scary. She was basically camouflaged  into the snow with just her ears poking out when Asher finally sniffed  her once and then trotted away, apparently bored. Jerk number two. She  liked them.

A blur of gray blasted past her, then Gentry skidded to a stop and  circled back, running so fast it shocked her to stillness. And right  when she thought he would plow into her, he leapt into the air and  sailed right over her with a grace that stole her breath away. Behind  her, he was down on his front end, his butt up in the air, his tail  wagging slowly, his tongue out.

Play with me.

She liked playing! Blaire took off, concentrating on her feet until she  got the hang of running. And then Gentry was right there running beside  her, racing her. On either side of them, Asher and Roman ran through the  woods, eyes drifting to Blaire time and time again.

Mine, all mine, my Gentry, my life, my boys, my Strikers, my pack, my  snow, my woods, my wolf. She wanted to scream and laugh and cry and then  start all over again. Blaire felt insane with how powerful and fast  this body was. The pads of her feet barely made any sound as she  sprinted through the snow, around trees and brush, weaving in and out  with the other wolves now.

Everything was going to be okay.

Emotion overwhelmed her. She locked her long legs and skidded to a stop  in a clearing. Gentry reached her first, worry pooling in his glowing  green eyes. He clamped his teeth on her neck when she ducked to the  ground for him, but it didn't hurt. Love bite. He sniffed her fur as she  lay there, then flopped over on top of her, rubbing his back on her  like he had an itch. Felt good. He was so warm. Happiness trilled  through the bond, and now the emotion that had stopped her swelled. She  wanted to cry but didn't have the luxury of that outlet in this body.  She couldn't absorb this all-consuming feeling in her body, so she  closed her eyes and sang. It was a short howl, unpracticed. But Gentry  stood in a rush right above her, tossed his head back, and cried out,  too. His voice was deeper and started low, then rose by an octave and  held. Stunning.

When Roman howled, he sounded different from Gentry. She committed his  tone to memory and sang again with him and Gentry. Asher waited so long  she thought he wouldn't join in, but as the tightness in her chest  finally eased, he lifted his head and cried out to the winds and the  woods and the sky.

This was a declaration. And not just Asher's. Blaire could almost hear  their thoughts, hear the meaning behind this song. A mash-up of jumbled  words rattled around in her head, and for the life of her, she couldn't  figure out if she was making them up or if the three wolves standing so  near were talking. I'm staying. We have to stay. I'm staying, too. Just  for a while. Not ready to go. Things left unfinished. Not this time.

She was glad Gentry hadn't killed Rhett now. This moment wouldn't have  existed if he had. He would've been alpha of that awful pack, and Asher  and Roman would be scattered to the wind. And she, by default, would've  been a Bone-Ripper, just like the bloodthirsty animals that had tried  and failed to kill her.                       
       
           



       

Her clever mate had known what he was doing.

Gentry had separated the Strikers from the monsters and separated her  from the darkness. They'd saved each other, but he'd gone above and  beyond what she could've ever imagined. He'd brought her from the brink  time and time again when she was fighting for her life in Odine's cabin.  He'd called to her wolf when she got weak, called to her protective  instincts, called for her to come back to him.

She was no longer weak, frail, and weaponless in a place where supernaturals ruled the shadows.

Gentry had gone to war with an entire pack for her life.

And then his love had made her into the white wolf of Winter's Edge.





Epilogue




Well, no one would ever be able to call Blaire boring again. Her eyes  were glowing like green bug lights, and the snarl in her chest was  constant. Matt would crap a brick if he saw her like this.

While she slathered on another layer of lip-gloss in the pull-down  mirror of Gentry's new truck, stalling like a champ, Roman laughed like a  psychopath behind her. From the familiar audio on the phone, she wanted  to strangle him.

"Look at this," he said, shoving his phone toward her. "Look how dumb  you look trying to run from your own tail." Butthole had taken video in  Odine's cabin.

With an eyeroll, Blaire shoved his hand away. She secretly adored Asher  and Roman, but she also secretly wanted to strangle them several times a  day.

"It'll be fine," Gentry said, sliding his hand over her thigh. "There  won't be any humans in there tonight, so if you lose it a little, it's  no big deal."

She'd prepped for this by Changing earlier and letting her wolf run wild  for a few hours, but she still wasn't confident in her ability to  control the animal side of her. It had been two weeks since Odine had  raised her wolf and saved her life. Two weeks tucked away and hidden in  Hunter Cove until she had more control. Two weeks of begging her boss to  let her work from home and explaining to Ashlyn she hadn't been  kidnapped, but that she found a place she wanted to stay. Blaire  grinned. Two incredible weeks of getting to spend time with Gentry  fixing the inn and cleaning up Winter's Edge. Two weeks of nights curled  up against him in his bed. Her old life felt so far away now. It felt  as if she'd ditched all the parts of herself she'd grown disappointed in  and clung to the pieces she liked. She was the best version of herself  here in Rangeley. Stronger, more confident, more capable of enjoying the  moment and not focusing on losing herself in work just to make it to  the next day.

Here, with Gentry, she was ardently happy.

But she couldn't remain hidden in the Hunter Cove Inn for the rest of her life, so tonight was the first night of her new life.

Blaire narrowed her eyes on the Four Horsemen with determination and sighed to expel the rest of her nerves. "I'm ready."

"About time," Roman said, shoving his phone into his pocket. "I've been  trying to annoy you out of the truck for half an hour. I need a drink."